


on a wednesday in a café

by matsuokarins



Category: Prince of Stride: Alternative (Anime)
Genre: Based on a Taylor Swift Song, Based on a song, Begin Again, Coffee Shops, First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-23
Updated: 2016-08-23
Packaged: 2018-08-10 15:07:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7849813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matsuokarins/pseuds/matsuokarins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>kyousuke hasn't been on a date since tomoe broke his heart. so he doesn't expect much when heath asks him on a coffee date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	on a wednesday in a café

**Author's Note:**

> aka the I-just-finished-watching-prince-of-stride-and-why-isn't-this-fandom-bigger-i'm-emo fic. based on the song "begin again" by taylor swift.

Kyousuke wasn’t used to being up and moving this early on a Wednesday morning; typically, he didn’t have to go into school until lunchtime on Wednesdays. But neither did Heath and so here he was, circling the block on his motorcycle searching for a parking spot. 

 

He ended up parking a block away from the cafe where he’d agreed to meet Heath. He was a little early; the walk would give him time to calm his churning stomach. 

 

Kyousuke was still mentally reeling from the mental image of Heath asking him on a date. They had been walking out of the school, turning their separate ways after practice last night, when Heath grabbed his wrist, stopping him in his tracks. 

 

_ I was thinking, since we both have a late start schedule tomorrow, maybe we could get coffee?  _ Heath had asked, sounding a little unsure of his offer. 

 

_ Sure, _ Kyousuke had agreed.  _ Why not?  _

 

_ Well. _ Heath had hesitated, running his hand through his hair, disrupting his carefully placed headband.  _ I mean like, a coffee date. Like a date? So-- _

 

_ Oh _ , Kyousuke had responded blankly, understanding Heath’s hesitation immediately. 

 

_ It doesn’t have to be a date, _ Heath had promised, backtracking speedily.  _ But I really wanted to clarify. I mean, I don’t know if you’re ready to date again yet, after --  _

 

_ Okay _ , Kyousuke had interrupted quickly, his words rushing out before he could carefully bottle them back up.  _ That’s fine. It’s a date.  _

 

They’d confirmed a time and location and separated with “see you tomorrow mornings,” hanging expectedly in the air. 

 

Now Kyousuke slowly dismounted his motorcycle, removing his helmet and shaking out his hair. He pulled out his cell phone and checked the time -- still a good fifteen minutes early. He opened his phone’s front camera and examined his reflection.  _ Hair up? Hair down? _ Tomoe had always preferred Kyousuke’s hair down.  _ It’s going up _ , Kyousuke decided firmly, sweeping it back into a high ponytail. Kyousuke took a deep breath -- it did absolutely nothing to calm his nerves -- and walked towards the cafe. 

 

_ He’ll be late, _ Kyousuke assumed automatically as the entrance to the coffee shop began to loom ever closer. Tomoe had always been precisely punctual to practice and to school, but chronically tardy when he was meeting Kyousuke; Kyousuke remembered when Tomoe had been an hour late to a dinner date and the restaurant manager had nearly given Kyousuke a free meal out of pity for being stood up. 

 

Heath wasn’t Tomoe, but Kyousuke still knew better than to expect him to be there when he pushed open the door to the cafe. 

 

“Kyousuke!” 

 

Kyousuke was greeted by the sight of Heath, standing up from his chair at a corner table by the window.  _ Early, _ Kyousuke noted, startled. 

 

Heath walked across the cafe, meeting Kyousuke at the door. 

 

“Good morning,” Heath said, smiling as he turned Kyousuke towards the counter to order, his hand hovering over but not quite touching the small of his back. “How are you?” 

 

“I’m well,” Kyousuke responded reflexively, glancing up at the coffee menu behind the counter, flustered. He’d been prepared to have at least ten more minutes before seeing Heath; the earliness had thrown him off. “Tired,” he elaborated. 

 

“It’s nine o’clock!” Heath admonished teasingly. “Don’t tell me you sleep until nine on Wednesdays.” 

 

“You don’t get to look this good without getting eight hours of sleep,” Kyousuke shot back, Heath’s gentle ribbing putting him at ease. This was fine. It was  _ Heath _ , his best friend. 

 

“Can’t argue that,” Heath grinned. “You do look very good this morning.” He pulled at Kyousuke’s ponytail lightly; Kyousuke turned his face away, just in case he was blushing from the unexpectedly sweet words. Tomoe would have commented on the slight dark circles under his eyes, not paid him a compliment. 

 

“Have you already ordered?” Kyousuke finally asked, focusing very hard on the pastry display. 

 

“Nah, I was waiting for you. You’d better pile on the caffeine if you’re so tired,” Heath laughed. 

 

“Will do,” Kyousuke murmured as Heath stepped up to order. 

 

After both boys had their drinks -- black coffee for Kyousuke and a ridiculously long sugary order for Heath -- and food -- a breakfast sandwich for Heath and a chocolate croissant for Kyousuke (Tomoe would have told him off for eating sugary carbs for breakfast), they sat at the table Heath had snagged. Heath had insisted on paying for everything, despite Kyousuke’s vehement protests.  _ It’s good manners considering I asked you on this date _ , he had pointed out. The cafe was crowded with businessmen and women getting a pre-work caffeine fix, and with gossipy post-workout groups clad in gym clothes. Heath pulled out Kyousuke’s chair and put a hand on his shoulder to help him in. The gesture seemed so natural; Kyousuke couldn’t remember Tomoe doing little things like that. 

 

Conversation flowed; it was easy to talk about Stride and their teammates, plan for upcoming competitions, and speculate whether or not Takeru and Riku would get together by the end of the season or whether Takeru was too enamored with Suwa Reiji. Kyousuke felt his nerves evaporate listening to Heath’s anecdotes about the team’s first-years from before Kyousuke had rejoined. Heath didn’t seem to have any special expectations of Kyousuke because they were on a date. That was oddly refreshing. And he encouraged Kyousuke to talk which felt uncomfortably new. Tomoe had been content to control their conversations completely, barely allowing Kyousuke a chance to nod and agree. Kyousuke still tried to keep his answers to questions short, his voice quiet; he knew he probably seemed shy, but he would rather come across as shy than annoying.

 

“What did you do with your time? When you weren’t doing stride?” Heath asked during a lull in the conversation. “I feel like we haven’t really gotten to catch up on an entire year of our lives. I mean, we barely spoke during that time. My fault. I’m sorry. Anyways?” 

 

“Hmm, when I wasn’t doing stride?” Kyousuke leaned back in his chair and grinned. “I was training for stride.” 

 

Heath burst out laughing, tipping his head back in his exuberance. “Why am I not surprised?” he asked, slightly out of breath from laughing so hard. 

 

“That was funny?” Kyousuke blurted. He registered the shock in his body at seeing Heath’s face open up with laughter -- at something he said. Tomoe had never once laughed at his jokes, and so he’d stopped trying to make them. “I mean,” he continued, realizing just how odd he sounded, “I really like your laugh. It’s nice.” 

 

“Well, thank you,” Heath chortled. “And that was, in fact, funny. It just felt so quintessential Kyousuke, y’know? What else have you done this past year?” 

 

“Um, I had time to study.” Kyousuke snickered at the appalled expression that crossed Heath’s face. “Please don’t die of a heart attack from shock Heath, but some people actually do study.” 

 

Heath’s laugh was jubilant, spilling joy from his mouth and the crinkles of his eyes. Kyousuke was buoyant, the warm feeling in his chest making his arms and neck tingle. 

 

“And I built my bike,” he continued. 

 

“Wait, you built that?” Heath’s eyes widened. “Damn! Color me impressed. Who knew you’d have a talent for mechanics? Learn something everyday.” 

 

“Well, I didn’t build it all myself,” Kyousuke blushed. “I bought the bike frame very cheaply -- they were selling it for parts which still makes me mad because it was such a fucking nice bike. Anyways, I really just fixed it up and made it better.” 

 

“Kyousuke, considering I can barely  _ drive  _ a car, much less a motorcycle, your humbleness isn’t stopping me from being impressed. That’s so cool! I don’t think I could even change a tire to save my life and that isn’t even complicated,” Heath giggled at his own joke. 

 

“Actually, I think you’d like fixing up a bike or a car or something.” Kyousuke was talking much faster than he normally did, and trying to stop himself from leaning on the table too much -- any closer and he felt like he and Heath would touch noses. “Or at least some of it. I had to scour the city -- fuck, sometimes it felt like the  _ country _ \-- for good parts and that was basically a giant scavenger hunt -- Sorry, this is boring you, isn’t it?” Tomoe had hated motorcycles -- hated hearing about them and refused to ever ride one. 

 

“Not at all!” Heath insisted, looking surprised Kyousuke had thought he was bored. “Admittedly, I don’t know much about motorcycles but you’re so passionate about it. That’s very sexy. And you’re right, I do like scavenger hunts. Please, go on.” 

 

“If--if you’re sure.” Kyousuke described his mad search for parts to complete his bike, leaving out as many technical details as possible -- he still wasn’t convinced Heath wasn’t bored --  to raucous laughter and elaborative questions from Heath. 

 

“Okay so if you’re punk rock enough for motorcycles,” Heath grinned, “did you listen to a lot of rock music while you were building yours?” 

 

“Heath, you’re making me sound like a walking cliche,” Kyousuke complained. “But, as a matter of fact, I did.” 

 

“I love rock music,” Heath responded enthusiastically. “I go to as many concerts as I can. I think a good rock concert is almost worth jeopardizing a single day of training. My favorite band is having a concert in Tokyo soon and I swear to God if we have a race that day I will lose it.” 

 

“Hmm, I think you could make it after a race if you really tried.” Kyousuke imagined Heath sprinting haphazardly to the concert venue after a race and grinned. “What band?” 

 

Heath practically bounced in his seat when he learned that he and Kyousuke shared a favorite band. 

 

“I have all their records,” Kyousuke admitted. 

 

“No way? Even the shitty debut? I didn’t think anyone but me had even  _ heard _ their shitty debut! Maybe we can go to the concert together,” Heath’s eyes lit up. 

 

“That sounds fun,” Kyousuke heard himself say and was surprised to realize it  _ did _ sound fun. He genuinely wanted to spend more time with Heath outside of school and practice, and their first date wasn’t even over.  _ Strange. _ Tomoe had acted like seeing Kyousuke outside of practice -- and sex -- was an obligation, as odious as homework. 

 

“I’ll have to see if I can get tickets,” Heath continued. “They should be going on sale soon.” 

 

The hours passed quickly, and at 11:30, Heath sighed and pointed out they probably needed to get going if they were going to be back at school on time. Kyousuke wished they had agreed to meet earlier; losing sleep seemed like a petty price to pay for the warm fluttering in his stomach. 

 

“Where are you parked?” Heath asked as he held the door open for Kyousuke. “I’ll walk you to your bike.” 

 

“About a block that way.” Kyousuke pointed, and fell into step behind Heath. “How did you get here? Did you drive?” Tomoe had a fancy car he drove to dates, when he didn’t run. He had never let Kyousuke ride in it unless he took off his shoes and promised not to get hair all over -- Tomoe had been livid the first time he discovered a single long white hair on the passenger seat.

 

“Um, no,” Heath said quickly. “I am so driving challenged. I took the bus.” 

 

Kyousuke nodded; they had almost reached his parked motorcycle and he felt his stomach swooping with nerves all over again. In his experience, the end of a date always sucked, unless Tomoe expected to have sex after. He felt a little sick trying to guess what to expect from Heath. 

 

“Thank you for agreeing to meet me today, Kyousuke,” Heath said when the pair reached Kyousuke’s bike, interrupting the silence of the walk. “I had a really good time and I hope you did too.” 

 

“It was a lot of fun,” Kyousuke smiled. “I haven’t -- well, I enjoyed myself.”

 

At the almost-mention of Tomoe, Kyousuke’s throat tightened into a constricting, suffocting knot. 

 

“I’d really like to go out with you again,” Heath responded, his eyes shining in anticipation. 

 

Kyousuke felt the knot in his throat drop to his stomach, heavy, overwhelming. The twisting pain made him feel slightly nauseous. This was where he could tell Heath he still felt so fragile from the burned remains of his relationship with Tomoe. That he wasn’t sure he could trust himself or anyone else in a romantic relationship again. That maybe he hadn’t been ready to date again at all, and he was sorry. 

 

But Kyousuke thought about the warmth of Heath’s voice and kind words, of his enveloping laugh, in Kyousuke’s chest. Heath wasn’t Tomoe. This was something different, something new, and as much as it terrified Kyousuke to admit it, it felt like the beginning of something good. 

 

“I would like that too,” he finally said. 

 

He hadn’t talked about Tomoe the whole morning. His chest felt lighter somehow. He knew he'd have to talk about it, to face it eventually but today he was content leaving the past in the past. 

 

Heath’s smile was like the heat of a roaring wood fire breaking through a frigid room; Kyousuke felt dizzy. 

 

“Would you like a ride back to school?” Kyousuke asked, before he could change his mind. 

 

“A chance to ride on your famous motorcycle?” Heath’s smile grew one thousand degrees. “Yes please!” 

 

Kyousuke fit his helmet on Heath’s head -- “No more injuries for you, ever,” he insisted -- and tried to ignore his galloping heart as Heath settled onto the bike behind him, his arms wrapping tightly around Kyousuke’s waist. 

 

The ride back to school was simultaneously painfully and mercifully short, and before Kyousuke knew it, Heath was unwinding himself from Kyousuke’s waist and hopping off his bike. 

 

“That was probably the best ending to any date I’ve ever been on,” Heath announced, handing Kyousuke his helmet. “That was wild! Damn, I wish you would skip class so we could ride around the city on that thing.” 

 

Kyousuke felt himself blushing. “I’d tell you to skip class yourself, but you already told me you can’t ride a motorcycle. You’re not getting your hands on my baby any time soon.” 

 

Heath cracked up as if Kyousuke was the most hilarious person he’d ever conversed with. Kyousuke still couldn’t get used to it. 

 

“Thanks again, for this,” Heath said, his face growing slightly more serious. “I think you should know that I like you a lot.” Before Kyousuke could grasp what was happening, Heath leaned in and kissed him gently. “See you at practice!” 

 

Kyousuke stood in the parking lot staring after Heath long after the school bell rang, smiling until his cheeks hurt. Because after eight long months of wondering where he had gone wrong and if love ever existed at all, a single Wednesday morning in a cafe had let something begin again. 


End file.
